First Annual Chili Bowl competition to be held in downtown Corbin April 14

Got an awesome chili recipe?

Want show off your chili cooking skills?

The Corbin Main Street Program is sponsoring the First Annual Chili Bowl competition April 14, to be held downtown in NIBROC Park and anyone with a great chili recipe is being encouraged to compete.

"I think it’s going to be a lot of fun," said Andrew Salmons, Corbin Main Street Manager. "I would love to see a lot of people from the community and the surrounding area come out and participate in this."

Anyone who wants to participate in the Chili Bowl is required to register by April 12. Entry forms can be obtained at Corbin City Hall or downloaded online from the Corbin Main Street website, www.downtown.corbin.com/chilibowl.

There is no entry fee for participants.

Salmons said along with the chili, live entertainment would be presented by local band The Neutrinos. Also, some civic groups will have booths set up in the park and downtown merchants will have an all-day sidewalk sale going on.

"There’s going to be a lot of promotions going on downtown," Salmons said. "It will be a good day to be on Main Street."
The overall winner of the Chili Bowl will be presented with a large trophy onto which their name will be etched. The trophy will be displayed at city hall.

"We’ve got a really cool gold bowl with a rosewood base," Salmons said. "It’s a cool trophy. We are going to find a prominent place for it and have a plaque with the names of winners really big on it. It should be very nice."

Judges will decide who has the best chili, but there will also be a "community choice" award, voted on by everyone who tastes the chili, and an award for best table decoration.

Setup for the event begins at 2:00 p.m. for participants. Salmons said that while power will be available on site, chili should be cooked in advance. Participants must bring at least six quarts minimum. Chili cannot contain any "game meats" or anything that isn’t regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Anyone attending the Chili Bowl must pay a $5 fee, which entitles them to bowls, a spoon and the right to taste all the chili made by participants in the competition. Salmons said money generated from the event would be used to help fund future Main Street activities.